sweden

TRIP PLANNING

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“Knowledge is learned but wisdom must be lived” – Anne Wilson Schaef

Travel philosophy ~ But of course, to plan an unbelievably memorable adventure that can be cherished in your minds and shared.

Map of Trip

Map of trip

THE GOAL is to travel locally; to see the culture, history, architecture and art; to meet wonderful new people from all walks of life and countries while trying to stay mostly in private homes or home based B&B’s and camping when a convenient room cannot be found, if equipped. If a hotel is the only place available try to stay in small family run hotels. What better way to learn about your host country and their culture than to meet and stay with the people and see how they live? Learn to live and think locally, enjoy the new experiences. Respect the cultural and leave your dogma at home, relish in the differences. I live with Americans every day but when traveling I like to be with the people of that particular country. Try to travel with a small group or even individually, as people will be more open toward you rather than if you are in a large tour group.

“We have arrogantly assumed that our way of living is better when we have not experienced, known and/or participated in other ways of living, Sometimes what we learn from other people and cultures doesn’t have to be political or spiritual. It can be something that is just good to do. – Anne Wilson Schaef

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Royal Palace and the Museum of Medieval Stockholm

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Stockholm Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Our first visit after wandering around the streets in morning was Kungliga Slottet (link), the Royal Palace, a magnificent baroque style building by the Architect Nicodemus Tessin. This is the King of Sweden’s residence with over 600 rooms on seven floors with a state apartment. The Royal Palace of Stockholm is His Majesty The King’s official residence and is also the setting for most of the monarchy’s official receptions. The palace is a daily place of work for The King and Queen as well as for the various departments that make up the Royal Court.

This combination of royal residence, workplace and culture-historical monument open year round to visitors makes the Royal Palace of Stockholm unique amongst Europe’s royal residences.

The palace contains many interesting things to see. In addition to the Royal Apartments there are three museums steeped in regal history: the Treasury with the regalia, the Tre Kronor Museum that portrays the palaces medieval history and Gustav III’s Museum of Antiquities.

Before entering this residence we must first put all our bags and cameras (yes even phones) in a locker and don little bootees over our shoes to protect the floors and carpets. As with all European palaces this one does not disappoint in its opulence. What a shame we could not take any pictures inside to share but as with any of these palaces you must experience them in person to understand the grandness of the spaces.

16th Century ModelAfter our long walk inside the Royal Palace we head over to the underground Stockholm Medeltidmuseum (link) (Museum of Medieval Stockholm). This museum is the largest excavation in Stockholm under the Riksdagshuset (Parliament House) and on Riksplan Plaza, this museum houses 55 feet of the original 16th century fortified wall, a 1520’s war ship, the Riddarholmsskeppetand, reconstructed buildings and artifacts from the time period. The exhibits tell of Stockholm’s emergence and the town’s development in the Middle Ages. The exhibition inside describes with compassion how the people lived and made a livelihood. It was very interesting to see the life and history of the people of Stockholm during the 16th century.

Strombron Bridge

Strombron Bridge

 

Vasa Museet, the colossal ship that sank shortly on it’s maiden voyage.

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After a brief rest at Skansen Outdoor Museum (link) off we go to finish our tour of the 75 acre museum then grab the T-Bana back to the Vasa Museet (link). Going 2 stops we get off the T-Bana cross the street and walk the short distance to the museum. Inside we are greeted by a massive wooden ship that was built between 1626 to 1628 and sank only 1,400 yards into her maiden voyage. It sat on the bottom of the bay until it was raised in 1961 and placed in the museum.

Vasa Sailing Ship

Vasa Sailing Ship

A colossal ship that was to hold 450 men of whom 300 were soldiers, 48 – 24 # cannon, 8 – 5# cannon and 2 – 1# cannon on 2 decks. It sank as the tall, top heavy ship caught a crosswind in its sails and capsized very quickly as the gun ports were open to show how mighty the ship was to the citizens of Stockholm. 100 crew including wives and children were lost in the sinking as the citizens of Stockholm watch in horror.

Grona Land Amusement Park

Grona Land Amusement Park

After walking all 4 floors of the Vasa  Museet we decided to walk over and visit Grona Lund (link), an amusement park with roller coasters, thrill rides, games, concerts and restaurants, that is also located on the Island. Being part of the Stockholm Card with free admission was a plus for us so we were able to walk through and see what the park has to offer. We walked most of the park and it looks like a fun place to spend some time at as it is along the same lines as the old pier amusement parks in America in the 50’s and 60’s, Blackpool (link) in England and Prater Park (link) in Vienna, Austria. We had a great time seeing the park but we are tired from our day’s walking and the 9 hour time change is starting to take it’s toll so we head back to our room for a stop at the market for more goodies and drinks, stop by a restaurant for something to eat and to rest for the next days adventure.

Sweden, Norway, Denmark Trip, Part 3

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This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 to June 10, 2014.

Nordiska Museet Interior

Nordiska Museet

Today we sleep in a little bit and then head out on the T-Bana back to the Island of Djurgaden to visit the Nordiska Museet, the Museum of Cultural History. This building built in 1907 houses about 1.5 million objects of Swedish Trends and Traditions. Walking around the 4 stories of the museum you see home interiors, jewelry, table settings, textiles, dolls, toys, textiles, folk art and many other items. We take the elevator to the top floor and investigate each floor on the way down. What an interesting way to spend the morning and early afternoon. Boy the Stockholm Card has been great, every site we visited during the stay was free along with all our transportation. Continue reading →

Sweden, Norway, Denmark Trip Part 1

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This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 and June 10, 2014.

Map of Trip

Map of trip

Jodi and I are off for another wonderful European adventure, this time to Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo Norway; an 8-day cruise in the fjords; ending the trip in Copenhagen Denmark. This adventure will be a planes, trains and boat vacation, with a few cars involved, thank goodness. We have done a few multi week vacations without the use of a personal car and we love it. This trip we only used taxis several times as it was easier to get to our destination instead of hauling our luggage on public transport. Continue reading →